The museum of dark places

Musarc performance, On repetition

Nocturnal visitors are invited to accompany us on a programme of night walks, talks, performances and journeys of discovery into the dark heart of the city. Taking place in the hidden spaces underneath the Museum of London, as well as in nearby Barber Surgeons’ Garden, Postman’s Park and St Botolph Without Aldersgate Church, the evening will include mythical creatures, an experimental choir, a talk on apocalyptic London literature, a thought experiment on night walking and a walking tour of London’s night sounds. The museum of dark places is curated by Jes Fernie.

Please note that some events take place outdoors. Visitors are advised to wear appropriate clothing and footwear. For further information about events and for ticket returns, please visit the museum of dark places information desk from 7pm in the Church of St Botolph Without Aldersgate, London, EC1A 4EU.

The museum of dark places bar will be open from 8.30-10pm in St Botolph Without Aldersgate, serving a selection of specially commissioned night-themed cocktails devised and served by Gimlet Bar.

The evening includes:

The museum of dark places talks

In Dark City: London after the Apocalypse, Dr Caroline Edwards (Birkbeck, University of London) will explore the post-apocalyptic London imaginary, from H G Wells, Virginia Woolf and Doris Lessing, to the disturbing urban fantasies of contemporary writers such as China Miéville and Alan Moore.

In Night. London. 1616, writer and academic Matthew Beaumont (author of Nightwalking) will present a thought experiment that evokes what it would be like to wake in the night and walk through the streets of London before the era of public lighting. Talk start at 7.30pm Meeting Point: St Botolph Without Aldersgate Church

Free, book now - Sold Out

An ear to the night guided walk

Join Rosie Oliver and Dotmaker Tours on a listening tour of the London night. From the bells that mark the passing hours to the hum of buildings at sleep, tune into the City’s nocturnal soundscape and rediscover lost and forbidden sounds. Walks at 8pm and 9.15pm

8pm and 9.15pm walk - Both Sold Out

Weird nightmare: Musarc with Sarah Kate Wilson

Musarc, one of London’s most progressive and experimental choirs, will reference "when night makes a weird sound of its own stillness" (Percy Bysshe Shelley), creating a magical atmosphere where the senses are heightened and darkness prevails. . With an intervention by Sarah Kate Wilson. Music by Charles Mingus, Melanie Pappenheim, Olivier Messiaen and the ensemble. Performances at 8.15pm and 9.20pm. Meeting point: St Botolph Without Aldersgate Church.

Free, no booking required.

The memorial to heroic self-sacrifice

Sarah Smith, pantomime artiste, died of terrible injuries received when attempting in her inflammable dress to extinguish the flames which had enveloped her companion. January 24, 1863. Historian Dr John Price will tell the story of Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice in London’s Postman’s Park, revealing the story of the memorial and how artist and radical socialist George Frederick Watts realised his ambition to commemorate ordinary people who died saving the lives of others. Starts at 8pm. Meeting point: Postman’s Park (entrance is via St Botolph Without Aldersgate Church).

Free, no booking required.

In the darkness they swing their manes like pendulums

Mythical creatures of the night will stalk the parks and gardens close by the Museum of London in specially commissioned performances by artist Nicky Deeley, with percussion by Tazelaar Stevenson. Inspired by H G Wells’ The Time Machine and 60s sci-fi film Quatermass and the Pit, two species will engage in a nocturnal rite of exchange and ingestion. Performances at 8.25pm and 9pm. Meeting point: St Botolph Without Aldersgate Church

Free, no booking required.

Let us know you are coming

Tweet us @MuseumofLondon #MuseumOfTheNight.Let us know you are attending on Facebook.

“The night, and all the evil the night covers, / The goblins, Hagges, and the blacke spawne of darkness”